Erica Verrillo has written seven books and published five. She doesn't know why anyone with an ounce of self-preservation would ever want to publish. But, if you insist on selling your soul to the devil, learn how to do it right: marketing, literary agents, book promotion, editing, pitching your book, how to get reviews, and ... most important of all ... everything she did wrong.
She's a member of PEN, and in the interest of protecting the 1st Amendment, she did not vote for Trump.

Monday, May 18, 2015

32 Paying Markets for Fiction, Poetry, Creative Nonfiction

Updated 12/21/17

Finding a paying market for short stories, poetry, and creative nonfiction is not easy if you are an emerging writer. The Poets & Writers database includes 1135 markets, only 154 of which are listed as paying. (Some of those only pay if your work is selected as a "best of." Others pay a token amount that can be as little as $1.50.)

In short, 90% of journals don't pay. The most a writer can expect from most literary magazines is a couple of contributor copies - provided the journal has a print version.

After culling through the P&W database, I identified 35 journals that pay their contributors and don't charge a reading fee. (Three have folded in the two years since I originally posted this article.) All accept online submissions.

I have listed primarily those journals accepting simultaneous submissions. (Editors who offer a token payment, take six months to reply and require exclusivity are living in a dreamworld.) Exceptions are journals with a reputation, and those which offer more than a token payment.

If you submit to several journals at once, keep careful records. As soon as your story is accepted make sure to withdraw it immediately from the remaining journals, either through an email notification or directly on submittable. (If you have submitted through submittable, just click "withdraw.")

"As a national, nonprofit HIV/AIDS magazine, A&U is interested in publishing articles about AIDS-related advocacy, treatment and care, community-based organizations and campaigns, and artists and creative writers responding to the pandemic. We’re looking for writers of all serostatuses to help use showcase a wide range of perspectives about living with HIV/AIDS.

"We publish everything from sonnets to science fiction, and we are always on the lookout for fresh work in all genres that reflects current realities of living with HIV, whether the writers or characters identify as negative or positive, as world citizens, or as members of specific diverse communities. Although A&U has published several moving and insightful accounts from the first decades of the epidemic, we are excited by work that challenges older narratives about illness and reflects instead a complex and contemporary global reality."

"We see literature and the arts as part of a broad, ongoing cultural conversation that every society needs to remain vibrant and alive. We look for the honest voice, the idiosyncratic signature, experimental where necessary but not willfully so. Writing that grows from a vision, a perspective, and a passion will interest us, regardless of structure or approach."

"The mission of The Baltimore Review is to showcase Baltimore as a literary hub of diverse writing and promote the work of emerging and established writers."

Submission periods: August 1 through November 30 and February 1 through May 31. Simultaneous submissions allowed. Payment: $40 Amazon gift certificate or $40 through PayPal, if preferred. Response time: 3 months.

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Black Denim
"Black Denim Lit welcomes thoughtful writers, new and established. We are looking for fiction up to 7,500 words that has unique and lasting artistic merit. We may consider novelettes on a case by case basis." Genre fiction: Scifi, fantasy, mysteries, thrillers.

"Founded in 2011, Border Crossing is a literary and arts journal published by the Lake Superior State University Creative Writing Program. Uniquely situated on the border of the United States and Canada, we're committed to publishing the best work submitted by emerging and established writers on both sides of the border and abroad. We're especially interested in writing that crosses boundaries in genre or geography, and voices that aren't often heard in mainstream publications."

"Through essays, poetry, fiction and feature stories our writers provide their unique perspectives on being mothers. We aim to be down-to-earth, literary, commonsensical, funny, poignant, honest, respectful, irreverent, relevant and intelligent. We like to cover traditional and not-so-traditional parenting subjects; our writers are willing to address the big questions. Each issue of Brain, Child is packed with personal essays, in-depth features, a debate, a parody, fiction, and words from you: our community, our readers." Not looking for how-tos.

"Buffalo Almanack considers fiction of all styles and genres. We neither discriminate against the traditional nor the experimental, neither the “literary” nor the fantastic. Our interest in domestic micro-fiction is as great as our interest in space-travel novellas and we’ll always save a seat for the remarkable and unexpected."

"At carte blanche we believe there is more than one way to tell a story. Our mandate is to provide a venue for narrative of all forms from fiction and nonfiction, to poetry and photo essays. carte blanche is published three times a year in the winter, spring/summer, and fall. carte blanche is a volunteer, not-for-profit literary project published by the Quebec Writers’ Federation, with support from the Canada Council for the Arts and individual sponsors.

Submission periods: March 15 until May 1, 2015 and from September 1, 2015 until January 1, 2016. Simultaneous submissions allowed. Payment: Modest. Response time: 3 to 6 months

"Contrary is a quarterly literary journal that publishes commentary, fiction, and poetry and especially specimens that defy those categories. Founded at the University of Chicago in 2003, it operates independently on the South Side of Chicago and publishes writers from throughout the world."

"Falling Star Magazine is a print quarterly featuring short fiction, poetry and art of all mediums. Founded in Winter 2000, Falling Star presents work from the world's emerging writers and established literary voices; recent contributors hail from Michigan and Poland, L.A. and the U.K."

"The Fiction Desk publishes a range of short stories from new and emerging authors, with a focus on strong plots and characters. We're based in the UK, but we accept submissions from authors around the world."

"freeze frame fiction is a quarterly flash fiction publication. The idea: any genre, no content restrictions—just good flash fiction. freeze frame fiction is looking for stories that stick with you, despite how short they are. We want to showcase just how powerful flash fiction can be. We want developed characters and interesting plots. One thing we're not looking for is vignettes: all stories must be complete stories, even if the ending is left open to the reader's interpretation."

"Geist is a magazine of ideas and culture made in Canada with a strong literary focus and a sense of humour. The Geist tone is intelligent, plain-talking, inclusive and offbeat. Each issue represents a convergence of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, photography, art, reviews, little-known facts of interest, cartography, and the legendary Geist crossword puzzle. Geist is a Canadian magazine, and requires a Canadian connection in all non-contest submissions."

"The Georgia Review seeks memorable and distinctive poems, short stories, and essays, whether from Pulitzer Prize winners or previously unpublished writers. Thesis-oriented interdisciplinary essays are especially welcome. Occasional special features on topics or individual writers."

Submission period: Closed to submissions between May 15 and August 15. Submissions received during that period will be returned unread. Simultaneous submissions not allowed. Payment: $50 per printed page for prose and $4 per line for poetry. Essay-reviews and standard reviews earn honoraria of $50/printed page; book briefs carry a fixed honorarium of $50. Response time: 3-6 months. $3 submission fee for online submissions. No fee for mailed submissions.

"We have a special focus on emerging writers, holding the Short Story Award for New Writers four times a year. In a recent Best American Short Stories, of the top "100 distinguished short stories," six appeared in Glimmer Train Stories, second only to the New Yorker. We are pleased to say that, of those six, two were those authors' first stories accepted for publication. Every year we pay writers over $50,000, nearly a third of that going to new writers."

"The Journal of Compressed Creative Arts is looking for, as you might guess, "compressed creative arts." We accept fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, mixed media, visual arts, and even kitchen sinks, if they are compressed in some way. Work is published weekly, without labels, and the labels here only exist to help us determine its best readers."

"There is no “type” of work we are looking for, and while we would love for you to read through our previous issues, it is not an indicator of what kind of work we actively seek. Our editors rotate, our tastes evolve, and good work is just good work. We want to feel something when we encounter a piece. We want to be excited, surprised, thoughtful, and interested. We want to have a reaction. We want to share the best voices we find. Send us that one."

"Our New Voices category is open year round to any new or emerging author who has not published a work of fiction or narrative nonfiction of novel length. Authors with short story collections are free to submit."

"Nashville Review seeks to publish the best work we can get our hands on, period. From expansive to minimalist, narrative to lyric, epiphanic to subtle—if it’s a moving work of art, we want it. We hope to provide a venue for both distinguished and emerging artists. Most importantly, thank you for giving us a chance to read your work. We appreciate it."

Submission period: January, May and September. Simultaneous submissions allowed. Payment: $25 per poem & song selection; $100 per selection for all other categories, including featured artwork. Translators receive $25 per poem & $100 for prose selections. Response time: 4-5 months.________________Neon

"We seek work that is beautiful, shocking, intense and memorable. Darker pieces are generally favoured over humorous ones - as are free verse poems over those that rhyme. Genre work is welcome, experimentation is encouraged. There are no limits on form or word count."

"As editors of The Pedestal Magazine, we intend to support both established and burgeoning writers. We are committed to promoting diversity and celebrating the voice of the individual."Submission period: December. Simultaneous submissions allowed. Payment: $40 per poem, $.03 cents per word for flash fiction. Response time: 4-8 weeks.

"Punchnel’s is a general-interest web magazine written for a smart, discerning audience of adults around the world. We publish continually, with new material appearing every weekday. We don’t have a specific editorial focus. We buy what we like."

"The Puritan is an online, quarterly publication based in Toronto, Ontario committed to publishing the best in new fiction, poetry, interviews, and reviews. The Puritan seeks, above all, a pioneering literature. Work featured here may push toward the symbolic frontier, challenging limitations and forging into previously unexplored aesthetic territory. But it may also revisit and revitalize traditional forms. The Puritan embraces work wherever it lands on the conceptual spectrum, so long as it is original, intelligent, and engaging."

Read Short Fiction
"Read Short Fiction is dedicated to publishing quality stories of almost all genres (we don’t publish erotica, and, as we are seeking stories designed for a large audience, we will rarely publish work that is too experimental). Word lengths should be between 1,500 and 4,000 words."

"Slice magazine welcomes submissions for short fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. We're looking for anyone with a fresh voice and a compelling story to share—basically any work that really knocks our socks off. We're not drawn to experimental or heavy-handed genre fiction." Themed issues.

"Still Point Arts Quarterly is a publication with a clear focus on art, artists, and artistry. Within this focus, the Quarterly addresses topics such as inspiration, imagination, and creativity as well as offering articles on art history, artist biographies, and art criticism. Both non-fiction and fiction are published (up to approximately 5000 words), and poetry is published on occasion."

"We’ll look at any genre. We like serious, comic, lighthearted, dark, emotional, and acerbic. The important factor for us is that the work use story, characters, emotions, and other fundamental elements of storytelling to think, to ask questions, to move the mind forward. "

Submission period: All year. Simultaneous submissions allowed. Payment: $250 for short fiction and short narrative non-fiction, and $100 for flash pieces up to 1,000 words. Response time: 3 months.

"Tin House is a haven for authors at the peak of their powers and also a jumping-off point for unpublished writers and anyone taking risks, pushing form and language. We're a magazine not identified with any one region but international, drawing writers and contributing editors from all over the globe. Each issue seeks to be tantamount to an invitation to the greatest literary house party ever."

"Each issue of Workers Write! contains stories and poems from a particular workplace. The 12th issue will be Tales from the Construction Site and will contain stories and poems from laborers, carpenters, plumbers, welders, foremen, safety inspectors, individual contractors - anyone who builds or works in construction for a living."

VQ has a long history of publishing accomplished and award-winning authors, but also seeks and supports emerging writers.

Submission period: June 15 to July 12 and October 1 to November 15.

Payment: For poetry, $200 per poem, up to 4 poems; for a suite of 5 or more poems, we usually pay $1,000; for poems longer than 50 lines, the payment is usually higher. For prose, approximately 25 cents per word, depending on length. Book reviews are generally 2,000-2,400 words and are paid at a flat rate of $500.Online content is generally paid at $100-$200, depending upon genre and length.

7 comments:

Thank you! This page is full of insight and is very useful. For about 10 yrs, my daughter and I have shared and published our different work, collectively. She and I write everyday. It would be a great challenge to tackle thus grow our skills and abilities to produce material for some of the companies mentioned, above. Thank you!

Here is another avenue for flash fiction that I found https://www.theflashreads.com. They are a blog like flash fiction site that picks stories posted on their website to go into their flash fiction books. For an exclusive post, they pay up to $50 per story.